What is notepad.exe?

The .exe extension on a filename indicates an executable file. Executable files may, in some cases, harm your computer. Therefore, please read below to decide for yourself whether the notepad.exe on your computer is a Trojan that you should remove, or whether it is a file belonging to the Windows operating system or to a trusted application.

Description:The original notepad.exe is an important part of Windows and rarely causes problems. Notepad.exe is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder or sometimes in the C:\Windows folder.
Known file sizes on Windows 8/7/XP are 69,120 bytes (46% of all occurrences), 70,144 bytes and 16 more variants.
The program has a visible window. The notepad.exe file is a trustworthy file from Microsoft.
Therefore the technical security rating is 6% dangerous, however you should also read the user reviews.If you want to remove the program completely, go to Control Panel ⇒ Software ⇒ Dell Support Center or HijackThis.

If notepad.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows, the security rating is 34% dangerous. The file size is 179,712 bytes (61% of all occurrences), 38,649 bytes, 190,714 bytes or 86,528 bytes.
Notepad.exe is a trustworthy file from Microsoft.
Notepad.exe is able to monitor applications and hide itself.

If notepad.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Documents and Settings", the security rating is 39% dangerous. The file size is 47,645 bytes (50% of all occurrences) or 318,961 bytes.
Notepad.exe is not a Windows system file.
notepad.exe appears to be a compressed file.

If notepad.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files", the security rating is 60% dangerous. The file size is 804,864 bytes.

If notepad.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows\System32, the security rating is 46% dangerous. The file size is 70,144 bytes.

External information from Paul Collins:There are different files with the same name:

"(Default)" definitely not required. Added by the RUSTY WORM! Note - not to be confused with the valid Windows "NOTEPAD" text editor

"Notepad lptt01" definitely not required. Variant of the RapidBlaster parasite (in a "nvd32" folder in Program Files). It is not recommended you manually uninstall RapidBlaster but use RapidBlaster Killer - see here. Note - this is not Windows Notepad which has the same executable name

Important: Some malware camouflages itself as notepad.exe, for example TROJ_XTREME.SMUS or WORM_SDBOT.FJS (detected by TrendMicro), and Worm:Win32/Rebhip.A or Backdoor:Win32/Xtrat.A (detected by Microsoft). Therefore, you should check the notepad.exe process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend Security Task Manager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PC World.

Score

User Comments

editor moe

your default windows notepad text editor Wizzkid007

Basic wordpad. sarah

It's Microsoft Notepad Phillip_2005

MS text editot

Windows Notepad Joey

A simple wordpad. Easy to use, surprisingly good for quick notes. Takes up next to nothing in the form of memory. Nick

auto rv trader /a Niklg

cv+jeszcze jedno dla mlodych osob

Basic text editor RFW

in 64xbit versions of Win7 also appearing in syswow64 Bob

Summary: Average user rating of notepad.exe:
based on 17 votes with 11 user comments.
14 users think notepad.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application.
One user thinks it's probably harmless.
One user thinks it's neither essential nor dangerous.
One user thinks notepad.exe is dangerous and recommends removing it.
One user is not sure about it.

Do you have additional information?

What do you know about notepad.exe:

How would you rate it:

Link for more info:

Your Name:

Best practices for resolving notepad issues

A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with notepad. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using cleanmgr and sfc /scannow, uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using msconfig) and enabling Windows' Automatic Update. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points.

Should you experience an actual problem, try to recall the last thing you did, or the last thing you installed before the problem appeared for the first time. Use the resmon command to identify the processes that are causing your problem. Even for serious problems, rather than reinstalling Windows, you are better off doing a repair of your installation, or in the case of Windows 8, executing the DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth command. This allows you to repair the operating system without losing data.

To help you analyze the notepad.exe process on your computer, the following programs have proven to be helpful: Security Task Manager displays all running Windows tasks, including embedded hidden processes, such as keyboard and browser monitoring or Autostart entries. A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware or a Trojan. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, malware and trackers from your hard drive.